Forging Your own Path
While being an independent sales representative isn’t necessarily unknown in the home and furnishings industry, it’s also not where many anticipate their careers will take them. When Mari Mack first began working for an interior designer after starting her family, it’s not where she saw herself either, but now, she couldn’t imagine a more perfect fit for her life.
Mari is a sales representative for a few companies in the industry, but she primarily works with Norwalk Furniture, a brand she’s known and loved since she started in the industry. She’s not a fulltime employee with them, though – she operates as an independent, 1099 contractor. This means she can make her own schedule, work within her own processes and operate essentially as an entrepreneur, but she still gets to feel like she’s part of something bigger.
We sat down with Mari to learn more about her work, how she got to this point in her career, and what advice she has for others interested in becoming sales reps within the home and furnishings industry. Keep reading for the full interview!
Q&A:
How did you find yourself in the home furnishings industry?
When my oldest daughter was born, I was the right-hand woman for an interior designer in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I was enamored with the whole process. The owner really took me under her wing.
I worked with the interior designer for about 8 years. We were designing huge, million dollar homes and commercial projects, so it was a baptism by fire into the world of interior design. At the time we were purchasing custom upholstery from Norwalk Furniture for all of our clients and I remember loving the fabric options within the line. My growing family decided to move to the Denver area when my first daughter was young and Sally Simerson, who was the Norwalk furniture rep at the time, asked if I wanted to come work with her. At first, it was part time and I was responsible for answering her emails and helping her customers while she was traveling for 6 weeks in Spain. I really enjoyed working with Norwalk “on the other side of the curtain.” I was so familiar with design, working with clients, placing Norwalk in homes, and then I had the opportunity to see the other side of the business and help the manufacturer sell to designers and store owners. It was very fun and felt familiar to me.
I’ve had some other subsidiary companies I’ve worked with, but Norwalk has always been my bread and butter. I’ve drunk all the kool-aid at Norwalk. I’m in love with all the customer service girls and all the factory workers, and I really believe in our products all around. I have had the opportunity to step into more and more of the business and find creative outlets within the company.
Over the years I’ve learned to love every aspect of working with a manufacturer. I’m an independent rep, so I make my own schedule. I walked out of a retailer’s store in Utah this week and the owner said, ‘Are you still liking this? You’ve been doing it a long time.’ Without hesitation I said, ‘You know, this allows me to walk a fine line between workaholic entrepreneur and stay-at-home mom.’ It’s the perfect job.
I’m sure that’s an inspiration for your kids to see, too.
My kids are always watching. Regardless of the age, they are taking it all in, and my daughters have learned to work very hard. I have always encouraged them to find the thing they love and work hard at it and push through the failure or disappointment. I think they’ve learned a lot over the years. My youngest starts a new business every couple of weeks. They have both cultivated little business minds. There’s something really crucial about being able to teach a kid that young.
What are some of the pros and cons of being an independent contractor?
As far as expenses go, because I’m a 1099, I can strategically write off my expenses. I was just in Spain this May and I have a rug line called Lorena Canals that’s designed in Barcelona. They don’t participate in any U.S. furniture markets yet, so it was a very good excuse to go to Spain and get a closer look at the line and meet the staff. If you’re smart, if you have a good accounting team in your back pocket, you can strategically write off adventures like this.
Here’s what I think people fear in this business: my contract as a 1099 really doesn’t have a lot of insurance. If the company decides it’s not working out between us they can let me go at any time. Obviously you would hope they would discuss concerns about my performance and we could make changes. But if they decide on a whim that this isn’t working, I don’t have anything to fall back on. I think that’s why a lot of reps like to have a full bag of things they offer customers, because if you do lose a line, you have four others you’ve been working on and have income from. That part of being a sales rep makes people hesitant. Across the board, when a company lets you go, they pay you for all the orders you submitted while working for them, which is sort of like a severance. When you work for a custom order manufacturer like Norwalk, the 5-6 weeks of production allow for a few months of income even after parting ways. As far as I know, everyone in the industry upholds that, which is encouraging. This industry is a small world and most of the time everyone tries to do the right thing.
I’m in Utah this week because it worked in my schedule and I had someone who needed to put in an order, and then next week I’ll run to Denver and see customers, and then I’m planning a trip to Montana in June. The nice part about not being a captive rep for a line is I really get to decide on the “where and when” and coordinate my schedule to my life and family.
What advice would you give to someone who’s interested in pursuing becoming a sales rep in this industry?
Make your own fate. Success is based on how hard you’re willing to work. When you’re not going to an office every day and there’s low daily accountability, you have to work hard and push through the mundane and do the follow up because you know it’s important for you and for your customer. Be consistent. This kind of work isn’t for everyone. The hard work, the consistency and the follow through has paid off every time and I have learned to play to my strengths.
Because I’m a single mom, I don’t get to be on the road quite as much as other reps who can be on the road 5 days a week. But I love good marketing and I have used that skill to keep my lines front of mind for my customers. When I can’t be on the road I schedule Zoom trainings and present a dynamic powerpoint that makes you feel like I’m in the room. I’ve learned I shouldn’t compare myself to anyone else in the industry and I play to my strengths.
Finally, find a product you really believe in and people who you really connect with, whether that’s the executive team or the factory workers themselves. There is a good amount of transparency in sales and if you don’t really love your line and don’t want to buy your own line, then it’s hard for people to look in your eyes and believe they should buy in. Find a line that speaks to you, one where you can look in your customers eyes and confidently say “I believe in this product.”
How did you first get connected to WithIt?
I’ve been a Withit member for a few years now. Our former president at Norwalk, Caroline Hipple was very involved, as well as a few other female reps at Norwalk and I was curious. They were always so excited to go to the WithIt breakfast at High Point Market. The first time I attended I remember thinking it was so fun and the speaker was great. The community drew me in, and the women who were a part of it were so amazing.
I truly wish I had more time to connect and attend events, and there will be a season in my life for that at some point, but I appreciate that it is what you make it. If you have a little time, you try to read the newsletter and hit the events at market, if you have a lot of time you can participate in the mentorship program or get more involved. Every time I go to an event or hear someone speak, I’m always so impressed, and I love that women are supporting each other in this industry. All the women I know in WithIt are incredible. It’s a deep well of feminine knowledge and experience. What’s not to love?
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